May 24, 2014: A Crushing Defeat for Atlético Madrid

Sergio Ramos' 94th-minute equalizer

May 24, 2014: It's an all-Madrid UEFA Champions League Final, at Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal. (Like the Super Bowl, the site is chosen in advance, the better to make it a neutral site.)

Real Madrid had won 9 European Cups, including the 1st 5. They were looking for their 10th: As they put it, "La Décima." It was different for Atlético Madrid, 4 1/2 miles to the southwest. Despite having won Spain's La Liga 10 times, including in the 2013-14 season, the Copa del Rey (King's Cup, Spain's version of England's FA Cup) 10 times, the 1962 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, and the UEFA Europa League in 2010 and 2012, they were still behind Real, the most successful soccer team of all time. They considered Real to be their arch-rivals, but they didn't even get that in return: Real considers their arch-rivals to be FC Barcelona.

Atlético had advanced through the knockout round of the 2014 Champions League by beating AC Milan, Barcelona and London team Chelsea, 3 of the giants of European football. Argentine manager Diego Simeone had Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, and Spanish forwards Diego Costa and David Villa. So they shouldn't have been intimidated by another.

But it was Real, the team that will forever be in their heads. By a weird turn of events, had played only German teams in the knockout round: Schalke of Gelsenkirchen, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.

Carlo Ancelotti, who had won 2 European Cups with AC Milan as both a player and a manager, had, unquestionably, the most talented team in the world. Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas and centerback Sergio Ramos were the best at their positions in the world. Two other Spaniards, midfielder Isco and forward Álvaro Morata, would have started for just about any other team in the world.

But Los Blancos also had French centerback Raphaël Varane and forward Karim Benzema, Croatian midfielder Luka Modrić, German midfielder Sami Khedira, Argentine midfielder Ángel Di María, Welsh forward Gareth Bale, and, from Portugal, left back Pepe and the man then considered by many to be the best player in the world, forward Cristiano Ronaldo.

(People who know the game from before their own memories will recall a certain Brazilian center forward, and know that Cristiano is not only not the greatest player who ever lived, but he's not even the greatest Ronaldo to have played for Real Madrid in the 21st Century.)

As befitting their nickname, Real wore all white. This allowed Atlético to wear their usual home kit of red and white stripes. Just 9 minutes into the game, Costa had to be substituted off due to injury. In the 36th minute, Uruguayan centerback Diego Godín scored on a header, and it was 1-0 Atlético.

And 1-0 it stayed, into the 93rd minute of play, with 1 minute of stoppage time remaining. In the middle of all this, I wrote on Twitter, "Wow. Champions League Final > Super Bowl, nearly every time." A little later, I wrote, "May Madness (CL & FA Cup Finals) > March Madness."

Atlético were 1 minute, maybe 2, from the greatest glory: The Championship of Europe, and a win over their greatest enemies. Unfortunately for them, they couldn't hold it: In the 94th and possibly final minute, Ramos headed in a Modrić corner, and it was 1-1.

It got worse. In the 110th minute, Di María fired a shot. Courtois could only deflect it, and Bale headed in the rebound to make it 2-1 Real. In the 118th minute substitute Brazilian defender Marcelo scored. Not that Real needed it, but it wouldn't be a Real Madrid game without a penalty for them, would it? Gabriel Luis Fernández Arenas, the Spanish midfielder known as Gabi, Atlético's Captain, fouled Cristiano in the box in the 120th minute, and it was 4-1.

It was a bottle-job worthy of the 1986 Red Sox. In the end, La Décima > La Destina.

The teams played each other again in the 2016 Champions League Final. It ended 1-1, before Real won 5-3 on penalties.

Atlético won an 11th La Liga title in 2021. They are now 0-3 in Champions League Finals, having lost to Bayern in 1974. But no loss ever hurt them more than this one.

Real won a 35th in 2022. Real won an 11th Champions League title in 2016, a 12th in 2017, and a 13th in 2018. The next closest teams are Liverpool and AC Milan, with 7 each.

(UPDATE: Real won a 36th La Liga title in 2024. They won a 14th CL title in 2022, and a 15th in 2018.)

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May 24, 2014 was a Saturday. In America's Major League Soccer, these 6 games were played:

* The New York Red Bulls lost to the Portland Timbers, 2-1 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

* The New England Revolution beat D.C. United, 2-1 at Gillette Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxboro, Massachusetts.

* The Columbus Crew beat the Chicago Fire, 2-0 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

* The Colorado Rapids beat the Montreal Impact, 4-1 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colorado.

* Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas played to a draw, 0-0 at Rio Tinto Stadium (now America First Field) in the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy, Utah.

* And the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Seattle Sounders played to a draw, 2-2 at BC Place in Vancouver.

American-style football was out of season. There was 1 game played in the NBA Playoffs, Eastern Conference Final Game 3: The Miami Heat beat the Indiana Pacers, 99-87 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami.

There was 1 game played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Western Conference Final Game 3: The Los Angeles Kings beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-3 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-3 at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago. Jacoby Ellsbury hit a home run in the top of the 10th inning, to make a winning pitcher out of Dellin Betances in relief of Vidal Nuño. Derek Jeter, in his final season, went 0-for-5.

* The New York Mets lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3-2 at Citi Field. David Wright went 3-for-4 with a home run, but it wasn't enough.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-3 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Ben Revere went 4-for-4 with an RBI, and Chase Utley hit a home run.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Baltimore Orioles, 9-0 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Corey Kluber pitched 7 innings of 5-hit shoutout ball, and 2 relievers finished an 8-hit shutout.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-1 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-5 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The BoSox scored 5 runs before the Rays even came to bat, and blew it by the 5th inning. In the bottom of the 15th inning, Andrew Miller allowed singles to James Loney and Brandon Guyer, and then threw away Desmond Jennings' grounder to let the winning run home. David Ortiz appeared only as a pinch-hitter, and did not reach base. The steroids didn't work that day.

* The Miami Marlins beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 2-1 at Marlins Park (now LoanDepot Park) in Miami.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Oakland Athletics, 5-2 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Washington Nationals, 3-2 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-3 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Detroit Tigers, 12-2 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the San Diego Padres, 3-2 at Petco Park in San Diego.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Los Angeles Angels, 7-4 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Angel reliver Mike Morin allowed 3 runs on 3 hits and his own error in the top of the 13th inning.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Minnesota Twins, 2-1 at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco.

* And the Houston Astros beat the Seattle Mariners, 9-4 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.